1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to rocking chairs and, more particularly, to an adjustable rocker spring apparatus for coupling a rocker block and a stationary base of a rocking chair together and enabling a proper balance to be achieved for the rocking chair.
2. Discussion
Rocking chairs typically include some form of spring mechanism between their base portions and lower structure of the chair itself to enable the chair to rock freely in forward and rearward movements. Problems arise, however, when installing such spring mechanisms and attempting to position them to obtain a proper "balance" for the chair when the chair is at rest and also when the chair is rocked forwardly and rearwardly.
Typically, such rocking chairs include a wooden mounting structure underneath the rocking chair itself. The wooden mounting structure includes a plurality of holes drilled therein to which the spring mechanism is securely fastened with conventional fasteners. The positioning of the drilled holes in the wooden mounting structure is critical to obtaining a proper balance for the chair when the chair is at rest and also when the chair is rocked forwardly and rearwardly. If the drilled holes are not positioned at precisely the right points, the chair may tend to tip forwardly or rearwardly while an occupant is seated in the chair. Improper positioning of the drilled holes may also cause the chair to assume awkward forwardly or rearwardly tilting attitudes as the occupant sits upright in the chair. In addition, different chair styles with different weight distributions on a standard set of rocker blocks cannot be readily adjusted to compensate for different centers of gravity.
Heretofore, the attempts to alleviate the requirement for precise positioning and adjustability of the drilled holes has consisted primarily of drilling additional, closely spaced holes in the wooden mounting structure. However, to obtain a proper balance for the rocking chair the additional drilled holes often have to be spaced extremely close together because a small variation in the placement of such spring mechanisms will result in precise balancing of the chair. When holes are drilled in the wooden mounting structure closely adjacent each other, however, such drilling substantially and, often unacceptably, weakens the wooden mounting structure.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to have an adjustable rocker spring mechanism which could be adjustably, fixedly secured to a wooden mounting structure of a rocking chair in a variety of positions to enable the proper balance to be obtained for the rocking chair. Such an adjustable rocker spring mechanism would reduce the criticality of the positioning of the holes when the holes are drilled in the wooden mounting structure and maintain the structural strength of the wooden mounting structure by avoiding the drilling of closely adjacent holes therein.
It is therefore a principal object of the present invention to provide an adjustable rocker spring apparatus operable to be adjustably, fixedly secured between a wooden mounting structure and a stationary base of a rocking chair to thereby enable a proper balance for the rocking chair to be obtained.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an adjustable rocker spring apparatus which may be adjustably, fixedly secured to a wooden mounting structure of a rocking chair without the need for drilling closely adjacent holes in the wooden mounting structure.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide an adjustable rocker spring apparatus which may be quickly and easily secured to a wooden mounting structure of a rocking chair without the need for special tools or other special equipment.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an adjustable rocker spring apparatus which may be used with wooden mounting structures of slightly varying configuration or weight distribution and be alignably secured thereto to obtain a proper balance for the rocking chair.